Evoluția portului popular din zona Târnavei Mici (județul Alba)
Evolution of the Traditional Costume from the Area of Târnava Mică (Alba County)

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents the folk costumes and adornments from Alba county, which some of them throughout their development also took over elements from the town milieu: the folk costume from the Alba wine-growing area, the folk costume from the areas of the Apuseni Mountains: Shepherds (Mocănimea) from the Arieș Valley, Shepherds (Mocănimea) from the Trascău Mountains, Shepherds (Mocănimea) from the Ampoi Valley, Țara Moților, the folk costume from the Aiud area, the folk costume from the Târnave area, the folk costume from the Secaşelor Plateau, the folk costume from the Sebeş Area, and Mureș Valley. Women wore on their head the factory-made kerchief made of fine wool or silk, with black or brown tassels, imprinted with flowers of different colours (purple, white, green, red); that was laced under the chin or at the back. In addition, the white embroidered blouse (ie) of thin fabric was laced with a braid embroidered with multi-coloured cotton yarn, the puffed sleeves were creased with flounces (fodori), had a lace applique, and above was worn a little black waist short coat made of felt and velvet or fur appliques. Over underskirts was worn the black skirt made of cloth or velvet with applique prints. Being very large, it is tied in the upper part on a band that gets narrower over the waist and widens as it creased. The old apron was replaced in front with another one made of heavy silk, atlas, cloth or velvet, embroidered with thread or polychrome silk garlands and bouquets. In the case of different ethnicities (Transylvanian Saxons, Hungarians) coexisting in a particular area for centuries, the tendency to define by differentiation was stronger and manifested by underlining the specific elements from the costume structure, which was attributed an exquisite identity-defining force. Therefore, besides a brief overview of the folk costume with reference to the Middle Ages, the modern age and the contemporary one, the paper offers sequentially some landmarks on the raw materials and techniques used at processing the vegetal and animal fibres harnessed for manufacturing clothing items.

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